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From time to time we have to compare files, documents and folders in order to find differences between them. File comparison is quite a daunting task especially when it concerns huge files and particularly important documents. For example, a sales manager often needs to compare price lists, commercial offers and other financial and promotional documents. It happens that some of these documents are made based on previous versions of the same docs. Very often sales managers receive updated price lists from suppliers, and in such a case comparison of documents is the only effective way to find differences in prices, supplies volumes and other figures that are extremely important for any business. This is only a simple example, since comparison of files and folders is a frequent procedure for millions of employees over the world, begin and from secretaries and document officers and ending with lawyers and programmers. No matter what texts are being compared, legal contract war source code of an application, all differences and similarities are to be found. Moreover, effective file compare solution should have a variety of features in addition to comparison that make the entire process enjoyable, fast and efficient. In this article we’ll talk about major features that an efficient file compare utility should have.

First off, usability of any software is a primary concern for every user. File compare utilities are not an exception here. Thus there should be no problems in understanding the way to operate such a file compare solution. Program interface must be comprehensive and look like the majority of most popular office applications. No additional IT knowledge is required to accurately use file compare software. Very often, such programs come with special comparison wizards that guide novice PC users through the process of file comparison. This is very convenient and in most cases time saving, especially if you’re not very good at using office applications.

Of course, comparison features of the most valuable since the user is interested in an excellent job done by the software. There are several comparison methods that work best for different purposes: char by char, word by word, line by line word comparison by keywords (if compared documents have very little similarity degree). For example, word by word comparison would be a good choice for contrasting of two documents the common ancestor, while comparison by keywords best option for two different docs containing common keyword.

Programmers would definitely appreciate the idea of dividing the text into programming code and normal text. For example, when comparing HTML web pages webmasters might be interested only in the HTML code wild copywriters focus on the web page contents. Good file comparison software would have that feature that recognizes various codes of different programming languages.

It would be great to comment on changes especially when working as a part of that team. In such a way one can save much time and efforts since there is no need to e-mail them or personally contact colleagues regarding the two compared documents. All one has to do is to leave comments to winds of words in the text and save a report will contain all such remarks and comments.

All you have to do is look at your health insurance statement to see how complicated the job situation is in the healthcare industry. First, there’s your primary care doctor. Then, there’s the specialist your doctor sent you to, the radiologist who took x-rays, the anesthesiologist who puts you under if you get operated on, the surgeon, the nurses, the physical therapists to help with recovery, the billing clerks, the administrators, the secretaries, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. Do those last three not belong? It feels like our insurance is paying for them too.

Job applicant tracking in the health care industry is every bit as complex as the industry itself. Hospitals and medical facilities need to have applicant management systems that are comparable to staffing industry software. The number of positions a single facility could be hiring for on any given week usually exceeds what other private industry employers have to offer in an average fiscal year. How do you keep track of all that? Medical facilities normally go out and get the best applicant tracking software money can buy. They have to. There’s too much at stake not to.

Working or employing in the medical field comes with a high level of responsibility and liability. Reference checking is not a casual pastime that you skim through and treat as mere formality. If something goes wrong later on and a facility is found to have not done its due diligence on an employee as part of the recruiting system, there will be legal and financial consequences, not to mention the potential physical consequences patients could suffer if they are victims of malpractice. Those are some pretty heavy consequences to deal with for not bothering to make a few phone calls.

As a medical facilitator, it’s important to do a thorough applicant tracking system comparison before purchasing the software that’s right for you. Some of it is specifically designed for the health care industry. Other applicant tracking software can be customized for any industry. You’ll want to find the system that works best for your particular needs. If there are compliance or regulation issues with the positions you hire for, find ATS applicant tracking that has reporting for those issues built in. The more automated you are, the less likely that you’ll make mistakes or miss deadlines.

Costs are high and regulation is intensifying. Making ends meet in the health care industry is about to get tougher. Those dealing with co-pays and prescription costs won’t have much sympathy for that, but hospital and clinic administrators need all the help they can get to make sure those in need receive the health care they require at a price they can afford. Investing in one of the top applicant tracking systems designed to work well in the medical industry is one step in that direction.

We’ve all been there – rushed to get ready for work in the morning, jumped in the car and no sooner have we selected our favourite radio station or cd, than we’re stuck in a traffic jam. Time is ticking. You’ve got deadlines to meet. Wouldn’t it have been great if your Smartphone could have told you there were delays, so you could have saved the petrol that is gradually being burned off whilst you sit there stationary, and taken an alternative route…

There is an increasing number of real-time traffic monitoring applications available for Smartphones. Real-time means that the traffic data is a representation of what is happening at that very moment, using satellite technology and the mobile data network. What this means is, that wherever you are, starting up the traffic app will show you a variety of information on roads across the country. Each app presents different strengths and weaknesses, and the cost varies immensely – so which one should you choose?

Traffic TV – Â£22.99

Traffic TV is available for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Java at a rather expensive Â£22.99. The app has a great interface, reminiscent of the Tubemap application released by mxData. It is obvious how to use it, although sometimes the zoom in and out buttons get in the way of the portion of what you want to view and can also be pushed by accident, meaning waiting for loading and refresh times again, especially when the phone has poor 3G or mobile data signal. This also uses up your data allowance pretty quick. This aside though, there are no real issues with the interface.

The symbols that appear on the screen show speed and direction, and an exclamation mark presumably shows a standstill. There is also an estimated delay time.

By far the best feature of this app is the capability to view a list of incidents that may affect your journey. You can imagine how useful this is for quickly plotting a new route out in your head.

The ability to view CCTV cameras over motorways is nice, but a bit unnecessary considering you have traffic information on the map overlay. And so seeing the cause of the delay won’t actually help in any which way, and at Â£22.99, cannot be a justified expense. Luckily, the CCTV portion of the app is available for free if you fancy a test drive.

One major downside (despite assurances that these issues will be dealt with) is that this app’s traffic data seems amazingly inaccurate (at least in my local area). Wait until this issue is sorted if you choose to purchase this app.

Google Maps – Free

The Google Maps application is great. You can plot a route a – b, you can change the map image to be either a drawn map, a satellite image or a hybrid of the two and the interface is so much more intuitive, with the classic ‘pinch’ and ‘expand’ finger movements to zoom in and out, and the ability to drop a pin in a favourite location. The Traffic data button brings up an overlay on the map screen, showing thick pulsating lines along roads with no explanation as to what they mean. You can’t judge a blockage, traffic speed etc and it is difficult to judge how accurate it is (as I type this there should be a huge standstill outside my office – but I haven’t seen a car drive past in about an hour).

Google Maps is great and should be downloaded (if you haven’t already got it free with iOS or Android). However, it is advisable to use it only for route planning, finding a location, road name or point of interest (train station, police stations etc.) and NOT for traffic monitoring.

The Highways Agency Application – Free

This is a great little app for listing accidents, delays and road works in text format. It does suffer from an amateurish looking interface and longwinded menu system. It asks to use your current location, and yet you still have to navigate through countless menu options to get to a list of incidents in your area. This is frustrating if you believe you live in the East of England, and yet the Highways agency classifies your area as the South East, meaning constantly going back and forth looking for the information you want.

As it’s free, it is worth the download, but again, doesn’t fulfil all the requirements of the modern driver. In combination with a sat nav system, maybe this app would be useful, but they make it difficult to read the text and a scrolling ‘do not use this app whilst driving’ renders it all a bit pointless.

Trafficmaster Trafficview – £1.49

The Trafficview App for iOS has the most up to date, accurate traffic information of all apps tested. The map (powered by Google) has the same ‘pinch’ and ‘expand’ zoom feature and shows traffic speed and direction with coloured symbols (also a setting is available that switches to delay times).

Trafficview is quick to load and refresh, and to date has not frozen on me. The traffic data refreshes every 1 minute by default. Which is quick enough to keep up to date whilst on the move, but not so often that it eats away at your mobile data allowance.

Zooming out, you can get a view of the whole of the UK with the red, yellow and orange traffic symbols still appearing. The app is not complicated, which is perfect for when in a rush or on the move, and doesn’t have unnecessary extra features or difficult menus. It is also difficult to push things by accident as with the Traffic TV app.

This is the only application currently available that pulls information from Trafficmaster’s live data stream which is calculated and collected from a network of traffic speed sensory equipment by the roadside (you may have seen them hanging over motorway bridges, they are more often than not mistaken for CCTV or Speed Cameras). This is an assurance of accurate and real-time information.

For truck and lorry drivers, this app is a direct replacement for the Trafficmaster YQ system and so should make the transition from monitor to iPhone screen relatively painless, if you were previously used to this system.

This app is great all around, simple and easy enough to use without polluting the display with pointless other features that serve little purpose. For the commuter who drives to work every day and for the lorry or van driver who needs to quickly avoid delays in order to make an urgent delivery, this app really has got you covered, and is a bargain at £1.49.

So which one should you choose?

For everyday use or for avoiding rush hour or bank holiday traffic, the Traffic View app from Trafficmaster is by far the best. It’s cheap, and does exactly what it needs to do. It’s hard to justify spending £22.99 on TrafficTV when Traffic View is both more accurate and easier to use. It’s also difficult to give good reason for the expense when the CCTV portion is available free, and the free app from the Highways Agency also lists accidents in the same way. Google Maps needs a lot of work before it should even be considered as a real-time traffic app, and the Highways Agency app, despite being free needs a GUI redesign. I would recommend downloading the Highways Agency app alongside Trafficmaster Traffic View and using the two in combination. If you feel you need the CCTV cameras, download the free ‘Traffic View’ (with a space) by CLO Software, although in my experience, it freezes easily even when the 3G signal is strong.